WA and federal govt close to NDIS deal

The federal government is finally on the brink of striking a deal with Western Australia to let the state run the National Disability Insurance Scheme locally.

Federal social services minister Christian Porter says the Commonwealth is open to a nationally consistent but locally-administered model and agreed with the WA government on Friday to commence final negotiations.

"While it remains the Commonwealth's strong preference for WA to join the NDIS on a similar basis to other states and territories, I acknowledge WA's firm commitment to a WA-delivered model that builds on WA's existing disability service system," Mr Porter said.

The aim is to start the NDIS transition in WA on July 1, a year later than elsewhere.